CLEVELAND — Cleveland Lead Advocates for Safe Housing, or CLASH, applauds the new lower federal lead soil safety standard established by the federal EPA last week but is hoping the City of Cleveland will take further action.
CLASH pointed to more than 200 soil tests it made last summer in a non-scientific study, showing that 50% of the properties tested were above the new lowered standard of lead soil contamination of 200 parts per million.
CLASH Executive Director Yvonka Hall told News 5 she's hoping the City of Cleveland will lower the lead soil standards to more like 100 ppm and strengthen lead safety enforcement in four areas to better keep Northeast Ohio children safe.
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“We still have children who are being poisoned in the City of Cleveland everyday and within Cuyahoga County," Hall said. “We must expand the coverage of the Rental Registration Program, create a relocation program for families where children under six are living, strengthen the enforcement efforts on properties where a lead hazard control order is already in place, and then expand resident participation in code enforcement.”
Hall urged residents to utilize free CLASH soil shop lead testing to check their properties and said the next soil shop will take place in Cleveland Heights on April 13. Retired MetroHealth pediatrician Dr. Chantal Dothey and CLASH Senior Information Officer Spencer Wells told News 5 that free soil testing is easy for homeowners, and usually, the test takes just five minutes.
“So far, the tests we have done are not a scientific study; we haven’t done every house on every street, so if we had a larger budget, much more could be done," Dothey said. “What we are doing now is not enough to get rid of the lead problem in the City of Cleveland, it’s just much bigger than that."
On Jan. 23, the City of Cleveland further introduced its Residents First legislation, which would give the city more tools to more swiftly go after delinquent landlords and better enforce its lead-safe testing certifications to qualify for city rental registration.
The office of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb quickly responded to our story and issued the following statement when asked about stepped-up city-lead soil testing and funding.
Our proposed Residents First legislation, which was just heard in Committee today, will require owners to obtain a “Certificate Approving Rental Occupancy” -which will require them to show they are Lead Safe-certified and in compliance with any lead hazard control orders.
If passed, that legislation will also bring forth a new enforcement tool that allows for the issuances of fines for violations involving lead-safe requirements.
The City is also open to exploring new, alternative routes like soil treatment pilot with Ohio State we announced in November to reduce lead levels to ensure we’re doing everything we can to protect the most vulnerable members of our community and our children.
Meanwhile, homeowners like Linda Park of East Cleveland, who had her property tested and was found to have lead soil contamination more than 10 times the national standard at 2,226 ppm, are hoping the city will get more involved with soil testing.
“Oh my God, what am I gong to do," Park said. “And I thought by putting on vinyl siding I was encapsulating any problem. I didn’t know it would tho in the dirt and it would stay there.”
News 5 is committed to following through on this developing story.
